Mark Yusko, the founder of Morgan Creek Capital Management and one of the hedge fund industry’s most experienced investors, is among line-up of heavy hitters who will appear at the seventh annual AR Symposium, to be held Nov. 2-3 in New York City at the New York Athletic Club.
Also joining the lineup are Alexandre Col, head of investment funds at $11 billion Swiss firm Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild, and Christopher Delong of Taconic Capital Advisors, the $8.1 billion New York fund co-founded by Frank Brosens and Ken Brody.
Yusko will participate in the opening panel discussion, which will take a broad look at the state of the hedge fund industry. Yusko is the founder, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management, a $9.3 billion investment adviser. Before forming Morgan Creek he was the president, CIO and founder of UNC Management Company, the endowment investment office for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, from 1998 to 2004.
Col will participate in an investor panel that will explore issues facing the investor community. Also participating in that panel will be Jim Berens, one of the four founders of the Pacific Alternative Asset Management Co. who is responsible for distressed debt and other credit funds. PAAMCO has been at the cutting edge of institutional investment in hedge funds.
Also joining the Symposium is Paolo Pellegrini, the founder of PSQR Management, who was the architect of the short subprime bet for the credit opportunity funds at John Paulson's Paulson & Co., where he was a co-manager at the time. Pellegrini foresaw the credit bubble as early as 2005 and worked to devise the trades that turned Paulson into the fourth-largest hedge fund firm in the country. He launched his fund in 2008, primarily to manage the personal wealth earned while at Paulson's firm.
Keynote speakers for the event include Kyle Bass, the founder of Hayman Advisors. Bass has been ahead of the curve in global macroeconomic thinking in recent years, arguing that the world's largest economies face significant pain. His subprime short in 2007 catapulted him and the Dallas fund he runs into the spotlight. His views on the fragility of the European Monetary Union, from which he has profited, have likewise been vindicated after being ignored just a year ago.
Another controversial thinker who will speak at the event is Michael Lewitt, president of Harch Capital Management and author of "The Death of Capital." Lewitt's monthly commentary, The HCM Market Letter, is widely read for its provocative views.
William Browder, who runs Hermitage Capital Management out of London while investing in Russia—which has forbidden him to enter the country—is also in the lineup.
This year, two panels will explore global macro issues. One will feature a debate on China, while the other will look across the pond to explore the future of Europe. Panelists will debate whether China's economic expansion is sustainable or will be floored by a decline in exports and an eventual real estate crash. Strategy sessions will focus on event-driven, distressed strategies and the future of oil following the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
As in previous years, there will be ample time allocated for networking during coffee breaks, lunch and cocktails between or after the various sessions. We are also planning to offer parallel stream sessions—allowing us to drill down into more detailed topics that may not be of interest to all delegates but which may be of great interest to some. More details, including a booking form, are posted online at: www.AbsoluteReturnSymposium.com.